Leaf-turner.



No. 611L773 Patented Sept. 3, l90l. G. E. vADAMS.

LEAF TURNER.

(Application 110d lay 26, 1900.)

(lo Iodol.)

lV/TNESSES dm zw UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE E. ADAMS, OF GLENS FALLS, NEW YORK.

LEAF-TU RN ER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 681,773, dated September 3, 1901.

Application filed May 26,1900. Serial No. 18,104. (No model.)

T at whom it may concern:

Be it known that LGEORGE E. ADAMS, a resident of Glens Falls, in the county of Warren and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Leaf-Turners; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to an improvement'in leaf-turners, the object of the invention being to provide a leaf-turner with improved means for supporting it in place and with improved means for holding the leaves and turning them.

With this object in view the invention consists in certain novel features of construction and combinations and arrangements of parts, as will be more fully hereinafter described, and pointed outin the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a View illustrating my improved leaf-turner secured in place on a piano. Fig. 2 is a front view of the turner detached. Figs. 3 and 4 are views of details of construction. Fig. 5 is a view of a modified form of trigger 29, and Fig. 6 is a view showing my improvements supported on a standard.

A represents a portion of an ordinary piano provided with the usual music-rest 1 and cover 2, and 13 represents my improved leafturner connected thereto, as will be more fullyhereinafterexplained. Theleaf-turner B comprises a horizontally-disposed openwork metal frame 3, comprising horizontal parallel members 4 and end connecting members 5, the former provided centrally with alined holes in which is secured an upwardlyprojecting rod 6. To the lower member 4 of the frame 3, centrally between the ends thereof, is secured a rearwardly-projecting arm 7, to which is secured an upright tube 8, and a plunger-rod 9 is disposed in said tube and provided on its upper end, which projects out of the tube, with a cushioned plunger 10, preferably of soft rubber, normally pressed upward by a spring 11, disposed in the tube 8, between the bottom thereof and the lower end of plunger-rod 9. Suitable standards 12, provided at their lower ends with cushioned enlargements 13, preferably of soft rubber, are secured to the frame 3 and are adapted to rest on the piano-rest 1, and the plunger 10 is adapted to be forced against the piano-top 2 by means of the spring 11 to securely hold the turner in place. U-shaped springs 1a are secured between their ends to the tube 8 and at one end to the rod 6 and are adapted to support at their other end a rod 15, held against the rod 6 by the tension of said springs to securely clamp the pages to be turned, and the upper ends of said rods 6 and 15 are bent outward, as shown, to facilitate sliding the pages between said rods. Swinging arms 16 are provided with circular bearings 17 on the rod 6, between the horizontal members 4 of frame 3, and springs 18 are secured at their ends around short rods 8, securedin the frame 3, and are then coiled around the rod 6 and bear between their ends against the arms 16 to force them from right to left to turn the pages or leaves, and each arm is provided at its free end with a clamp 19, comprising a metal strip bent between its ends to form two spring-jaws to clamp a page or leaf and secured near their lower ends to the arms 16 by soldering or otherwise, and the respective ends of frame 3 are also provided with bars or clamps 20, similar in construction to clamps 19, to secure the first and last pages or leaves of the music. The ends of the spring bars or clamps 19 which project below the arms will serve as fingerholds to return the pages to their right-hand position. A plate 21 is secured to the right hand end of frame 3 and projects in front of the same and is provided with notches 22 and inclined or beveled ways or guides 23, leading to said notches. Thus when the arms 16 are swung to the right they will be raised slightly by the inclined or beveled guides 23 and permitted to spring into the notches 22. A lever 24 is fulcrumed between its ends on a projecting arm 25 on said plate and its inner end is normally pressed downward by a spring 26, secured to the plate and lever at its respective ends, and the outer end of the lever is made with a flattened enlargement or button 27, which when it is desired to turn a page is depressed by the operators finger to force the inner end of the lever against the lower arm 16, raise the same out of its notch 22, and permit it to be swung to the left by its spring, and said lever 24 is provided with a stop 28 to limit the upward movement of the inner end thereof, and the plate 21 is provided with a stop to limit the downward movement of the inner end of said lever, A counterweighted trigger 29 is pivoted between its ends on the lever 24, and the weighted end of said trigger rests after the first or lower arm 16 has been released on a stop 30 on the lever 24 to hold the other end of said trigger in proper position to engage the upper arm 16 and raise itout of its notch and permitit to swingfrom rightto left when the button 27 at the outer end of lever 24 is depressed the second time. However, when the lower arm 16 is in its notch it will hold the trigger out of position to engage the up per arm, and hence not permit the release of the upper arm until the lower arm is set free.

As many swinging arms may be employed as desired, a trigger of longer length being provided and having a notch for each additional arm, as shown in Fig. 5. My improved turner is also adapted for use in connection with a standard or support, as shown in Fig. 6, and when so employed the tube 8 is provided with a cap 31, adapted to fit over the upper end of a suitable standard 32, as shown.

Various slight changes might be resorted to in the general form and arrangement of the several parts described without departing from the spirit and scope of my i11vention, and hence I would have it understood that I do not wish to limit myself to the precise details set forth, but consider myself at liberty to make such slight changes and alterations as fairly fall within the spirit and scope of my invention.

Having fully described my invention, What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a leaf-turner, the combination with a horizontal frame, and cushions depending from the end portions of said frame, of a tubular post secured to the central portion of said frame, a rod entering said postand carrying a cushion at its upper end, a spring in the tubular post pressing said cushion-rod upwardly, a rod disposed parallel with the tubular post and passing through the horiz'on ta'l frame, aseries of spring-actuated arms mounted on said rod where it passes through the frame, leaf-clamps carried by said arms, U-sha'ped springs secured to the tubular post and the rod disposed parallel therewith, and a rod disposed alongside said last-mentioned rod and pressed thereagainst by said U- shaped springs.

adapted to successively engage the remaining swinging arms when the lever is successively operated.

3. In a leaf-turner, the combination with a frame adapted to support leaves to be turned, of arms mounted to swing on said frame, means for forcing said arms from right to left, said frame provided with notches to hold the arms in their extreme right-hand position, a lever normally held out of engagement with said arms and arranged to engage the lower arm only, a counterweighted trigger mounted on said lever and normally proje'cting beyond the lower arm and means for causing said trigger to release the other arms from their notches when the lever is operated successively.

4C. In a music-leaf turner, the combination with a'frame and a series of arms mounted to swing thereon, of a bar for each arm, each bar split throughout a portion of its length to form a clamp and having a broadened or flattened portion below the split portion, the

broadened portions of the bars secured to the ends of the swinging arms, and finger-holds depending from the broadened or flattened portions of the bars.

5. In a leaf-turner, the combination with a frame and a series of spring-actuated arms mounted therein and carrying leaf-clamps, of a plate at one end of said frame having a series of notches for the reception of the spring-actuatedarms, a spring-retained lever pivoted between its ends to said plate, a stop on said plate normally engaged by the lever, a weighted trigger pivoted to the lever and a stop-arm on the lever to receive the weighted end of said trigger.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEORGE E. ADAMS.

\Vitnesses:

WILLIAM D. RALPH, CHARLES H. WILLIAMS, Jr. 

